DENVER Another Towaoc man faces felony charges for assault on a police officer.
A grand jury on Wednesday indicted Edwin Lehi Jr., 18, on one count of assaulting a federal officer. Lehi has not yet entered a plea.
The charge carries of maximum prison sentence of eight years.
According to an arrest affidavit, U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs police responded to a call about a fight on the afternoon of Sept. 10. When officers arrived, two suspects fled.
Officer Lyle Benally caught up to Lehi outside an abandoned house. After he handcuffed Lehi, Lehi allegedly began to resist, pushing back against Benally and head-butting him in the left cheek, according to the affidavit.
Benally put Lehi in a nearby tribal security car, but the car had no screen between the back seat and the front, and Lehi allegedly kicked Benally in the shoulder, according to the affidavit.
During the scuffle, Lehi allegedly accused Navajo officers of being racist against Utes and yelled at Benally, You killed Spencer!
Spencer Posey, a 34-year-old single father, died in May after being shot by police. Federal authorities have not yet released an account of the incident. Agents told Lehi that Benally was not the officer who shot Posey.
Benally went to a medical center in Shiprock after the end of his shift, where he was treated and released.
It was the second time in a month that Benally was attacked on the job. A Cortez man, who is not an Indian, pleaded guilty to punching Benally at the Towaoc senior center in early August. Days later, another suspect allegedly swung a metal fence post at another BIA officer in Towaoc.
Reach Joe Hanel at joeh@cortezjournal.com.
